The excerpts from Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes‘ opinion, issued yesterday, regarding the rescue of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA’s) collection via the Grand Bargain are worth reading in full, especially for these sentences that explicitly back the professional standards promulgated by art museums regarding deaccessions and that underscore the importance of the museum and its art to the city’s recovery:
Nationally accepted standards for museums prohibit the de-acquisition of art to pay debt….
To sell the DIA art would only deepen Detroit’s fiscal, economic and social problems. To sell the DIA art would be to forfeit Detroit’s future. The city made the right decision.
Rhodes’ Rules should be required reading for museum administrators, board members and government officials around the country. Here’s what he said in court:
